Thriller opening sequence - Get Out

 

Analysing the opening sequence to Get Out

Get out is a Thriller/horror film directed by Jordan Peele that released on March 17th 2017 and was produced by Blumhouse Productions, the cast features Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Bradley Whitford and Catherine Keener.

GET OUT

NARRATIVE

This sequence follows a man walking alone at night around a neighbourhood in the suburbs, he is on a call with someone, presumably a friend, and tells them that he is in a ‘creepy, confusing ass suburb’ revealing that he feels somewhat unsafe. He hangs up the phone and starts muttering directions to himself; he is clearly lost and confused as to where he is. A white car then drives past him in the opposite direction as a seemingly meaningless detail, before it then turns around in the other direction in the middle of the road. It begins to slowly drive up before stopping right next to him, playing music that sounds old timey and cheerful, the man becomes creeped out and turns around to walk away from the car, the camera then rotates around him to reveal the other side of the car, who’s door is open.  Another person suddenly emerges from the shadows and begins to strangle him, once he is passed out, they then quickly drag him to the car before driving away. From this, we can expect the rest of the film to follow the man after his capture and how he escapes, or perhaps we follow the person who kidnapped him to learn why they did it and their motivations.

TARGET AUDIENCE

This film targets adult audiences, this is made clear due to the aggressive strangling shown and the general theme of kidnapping, which is unsuitable for children, the man is also heard swearing a significant amount which further proves that it is not intended for them.

GENRE & TONE

The film’s thriller genre is made apparent through the eerie and unsettling feeling it creates, despite the fact that suburban neighbourhoods tend to be presented as peaceful places, this one is shot in the dark and in complete silence, the odd behaviour of the car driver is similarly off putting. The fact that it opens on a man walking alone at night and obviously the kidnapping sequence are both typical of the thriller genre as we are left wondering what the kidnapper’s sinister intentions are. The general tone seems unsafe and creepy, again due to the dark and empty setting paired with the man’s slight panic from being lost.

CHARACTERS

Two characters are shown in this sequence; the man being kidnapped and his kidnapper. Although the man is the first character we are shown and we follow this situation from his perspective, he doesn’t seem to be the film’s main character; we don’t really get shown many shots of his face, or really any shots that clearly highlight his appearance as he is mainly out of sight in the shadows, his lines of dialogue seem similarly insignificant as he is just rambling to himself - this suggests that his actual character perhaps isn’t going to be particularly present or important throughout the rest of the film as he has no clear defining features made obvious to us. The person kidnapping him is completely hidden by the shadows and their face is never shown as it is covered by some sort of mask - this anonymity perhaps suggests that their identity will be revealed later in the film - they are also dressed in a full black costume which, paired with the mysterious mask, has evil and sinister connotations that clearly establish them as a villain (along with obviously kidnapping a man). 

TECHNIQUES

This sequence is filmed in one continuous long take, never breaking away from the man’s perspective which essentially leaves no space for any sort of break, this draws the audience into the man’s point of view as we experience it exactly like he would; in once swift and sudden action. The camera moves smoothly along with him, following him as he turns and walks in the opposite direction of the car, which prevents us from knowing what the driver is doing, this lack of awareness unsettles the viewer as we are essentially forced to turn our back to the danger. The camera then tracks around the man to show that the car door was opened as a first sign of danger, before turning again to the right to show real danger; the kidnapper emerging from the shadows. The sounds in this sequence mainly feature the man’s diegetic quiet muttering to himself, including lines like ‘just keep on walking’ and ‘fuck this… not today’ to further stress the fear he is feeling, and the diegetic music playing from the car that is contrapuntal due to its happy and old-timey tone in contrast to its very unsettling behaviour, this music then becomes part of the non diegetic soundtrack as we watch the car drive into the distance at the end.

SUCCESSFUL?

I think this sequence succeeds in creating an unsettling atmosphere that clearly informs the audience of the dangerous situation the man is in. However, I personally don’t find it especially engaging due to how non specific it is; it is a very common type of scene in thrillers and horrors, I don’t think it did anything particularly special with the concept and it definitely doesn’t do the rest of the plot any justice. This type of opening may however be useful for attracting fans of the genre as it is a simple situation to understand that they are familiar with, though in my opinion it is somewhat lacking in any real substance.